644th
Battle Squadron

The 644th Battle Rider Squadron is organized into four divisions - the Escort
division, the Battle division, the Screen division, and the Carrier.

The Carrier: The heart of the battle squadron is the
carrier. This 300,000 ton ship carries the Battle Riders of the squadron as well
as the Fighter division.
Heavily armed and armored, the carrier serves as battle control station as well
as a centralized jump drive for the squadron.
In addition to the standard bridge facilities for ship operations, the carrier
is fitted with an extensive electronics and communications suite which enables
the squadron commodore (as opposed to the captain of the carrier) to control and
direct the components of the squadron in battle and while maneuvering.

The Escort Division: The squadron is organized to place the
Battle Riders into battle against the enemy. To cover the launch and recall of
the riders, the squadron has a division of escort ships normally assigned to it.
These Sloan class Fleet Escorts carry enough firepower to cover the brief
interval between launch and action for the Battle Riders and can fend off
smaller nuisance attacks when necessary.

The Battle Division: Four Shukhuar class Battle Riders form
the Battle Division of the squadron. Their heavy firepower is the crux of the
entire squadron's strength.
The Battle Riders are designed to mate snugly with the carrier, using a minimum
of volume when attached to their mother ship. Crews continue to maintain and
tune the Riders when attached to the carrier, and maintain them in a constant
state of readiness.

The Fighter Division: The carrier's hangar bays carry 200
single place fighters. Fighters are used for long range patrols and
reconnaissance within a system, allows the carrier advanced warning of enemy
ships or bases. In addition, the fighters are expected to hold the screen
against enemy vessels until the Riders are ready to begin battle.

THE BATTLE RIDER CONCEPT

The Battle-Rider concept builds a quantity of heavily-armored, heavily-gunned
ships without jump drives and provides them with a carrier with jump
drive to take them from star system to star system.

Riders are able to substitute additional armor and weaponry for the tonnage
formerly occupied by the jump drives. Such a rider should be able to defeat a
battleship of equivalent tonnage which is burdened with the necessary jump
drives. The carrier has empty space to hold the riders, and large jump drives
that enable the total tonnage to jump.

The primary reason that Battle-Rider squadrons are procured is fiscal. For
any given budget, the Battle-Rider concept produces a more powerful squadron at
less cost. In addition, by increasing the number of hulls, the squadron
increases the number of spinal mount weapons available.